Mill-stock feeder



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

G. OOTTRELL.

MILL STOCK FEEDER.

No. 329,364. Patented Oct. 27, 1885.

wvwwbo a I u. PETERS Pholo-mhographen Washmgon. n cy (No Model.) 2Sheets-Sheet 2.

G. OOTTRELL.

MILL STOCK FEEDER.

No. 329,364. Patented Oct. 27, 1885.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE COTTRELL, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

MILL-STOCK FEEDER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 329,364, dated October27, 1885.

Application filed July 27, 1885.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE Co'rTEELL, of the city and county of SanFrancisco, State of California, have invented an Improvement inMill-Stock Feeders; and I hereby declare the following to be a full,clear, and exact description of the same.

My invention relates to that class of automatic feeders which areemployed to deliver mill-stock of various kinds to rolls, purifiers, andsimilar machines; and my invention con sists in the construction andcombination of devices hereinafter described and claimed.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective viewof my agitating mechanism. Fig. 2 is a vertical section of my feederwith the agitator applied. Fig. 3 is a horizontal section through hopperA. Fig. 4 is a vertical section showing the application of the agitatingmechanism over a fixed board.

Feeders of this class are usually double or two-part ones, and I haveherein deemed it necessary simply to illustrate one half or side of thefeeder.

A is the hopper, having a throat, a. Under the throat of the hopper is ashaker, B, which has a lateral motion, or one that is parallel with itsdelivery-edge, which motion may be imparted to it by any suitablemechanism such, for example, as a cam, b, operating against a pin, 1),on one side of the shaker, and a spring, b connected with the arms orpins 1) on the other side of the shaker. The shaker is located at aslight downward inclination directly below the throat of the hopper.

C is the feed-gate, which forms the front wall of the throat of thehopper, pivoted below and at the point 0, and having its lower edge insuch relation to the delivery-edge of the shaker that the weight of thematerial in the hopper and its throat, causing the movement of the gateon its pivotal center,'provides a feed-aperture between its lower edgeand the delivery-edge of the shaker, through which the material passesto the rolls, unnecessary herein to show.

These parts which I have described are the parts of the feeder for whichI have heretofore applied for Letters Patent of the United States,

Serial No. 172,815. (No model.)

the application being numbered 168,829, and dated June 15, 1885.

In practice it has generally been deemed sufficient to use substantiallythe parts de-;

scribed; but I have found that I can obtain a more perfect and regularfeed by introducing agitator-fingers located and constructed as follows:In Fig. l, D is a board, to one edge of which is firmly secured a bar,E. On one edge of this bar, and parallel with it, is a bar, F. In bothbars are made sockets e, in which are inserted short shafts f, which areadapted to have an oscillating motion in their seats. Through thesockets, bars, and shafts fpass the fingers G. The effect of thisconstruction is such that when one bar is moved on the other the fingersare given a vibratory motion, turning on the pivot-shafts fin both bars.Their motion at their extreme ends is much greater than at their bases.The short shafts f are preferably made of leather, for the sake ofdurability. By reference to Fig. 2 it will be seen that the board D, towhich the bar E is secured, is firmly bolted to the back wall, a, of thehopper, and that the fingers G extend over the shaker B and lie paralleltherewith, their extreme points projecting downwardly to thedelivery-edge of the shaker, and into the feed-aperture made between thegate and the shaker. The bar F is firmly secured to the shaker.

The operation is as follows: By the lateral movement of the shaker thebar F is carried with it, while the bar E remains fixed. This causes thevibration of the fingers, which, working in the material and projectinginto the feed-aperture, causes its positive and regn' lar discharge,every portion of the material being reached by the overlapping fingers.It will be noticed, however, that if the bar F were fixed and the bar Ehad a lateral longitudinal motion, the same effect would be produced. Inorder to illustrate this, I refer to Fig. 4, in which, instead of thelaterallymoving shaker, I have the fixed board, which is heredesignated, similarly to the shaker, by the letter B. Above the upperend of the board B is a laterally-moving strip or piece, B. The bar E isfirmly secured to this movable strip, while the bar F is secured to the100 fixed feed-board B. The lateral movement of the strip B causes thevibration of the fingers G, as before described.

I am aware that it is not new to use agitator-fingers in the throat of afeed-hopper; but these fingers have been arranged in dif ferentlocations from mine, and have been differently constructed, some of themprojecting from an oscillating shaft above, and some of them projectingupwardly directly from the shaker, and in some cases the fingers projectfrom without into the feed aperture. I do not therefore claim, broadly,the employment of agitatorfingers.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a mill stock feeder, the combination of the hopper provided with afeedaperture, the feed-board, and the vibrating fingers G above thefeed-board, lying parallel therewith and extending to and projectingwithin the feed aperture, substantially as herein described- Y 2. In amill-stock feeder, the combination of a fixed bar, a moving bar upon oneedge and parallel with the fixed bar, and the agitator-fingers pivotedin the two bars, whereby.

said fingers are vibrated on their bases, sub stantially as hereindescribed.

3. In a mill-stock feeder, a hopper, a feedboard, and a feed gate, incombination with the vibrating fingers G, lying over and parallel withthe feed-board and projecting within the feed-aperture, and the parallelbars E F,

in which the fingers are pivoted, one of said bars being fixed and theother having a lateral longitudinal motion, whereby the fingers arevibrated over the board, substantially as herein described.

4C. In a mill-stock feeder, the hopper, the shaker B, having a movementparallel with its delivery-edge, and the feed-gate G, in combinationwith the-vibrating agitator-fingers G over the shaker and paralleltherewith, substantially as herein described.

5. In a mill-stock feeder, the hopper A, the laterally-moving shaker B,and the feed-gate O, in combination with the agitator-fingers G, lyingover and parallel with the feed-board, and the bars E and F, in whichthe fingers are pivoted, the bar E being secured to the hopper and thebar F to the shaker, whereby the fingers are vibrated, substantially asherein described.

6; In a mill-stock feeder, the combination, with the hopper, of theagitating mechanism in the throat of the hopper, comprising the bars EF, having sockets e, the short shafts f, pivoted in the said sockets,and the fingers G, passing through the sockets and shafts of the twobars, substantially as herein described.

7. In a mill-stock feeder, the combination, with a hopper, of theagitating mechanism in the throat of the hopper, comprising the bars EF, fitted with short shafts f, made of leather, and the fingers G insaid shafts, substantially as herein described.

8. In a millstock feeder, the agitating mechanism in the throat of thehopper, comprising the bars E F, having sockets a,'-and short shafts f,pivoted in said sockets, and the fingers G in the shafts, in combinationwith a hopper to which the material is fed, and to which one of the barsis fixed, a reciprocating shaker to which the other bar is fixed, and agate by which the material is allowed to discharge, substantially asherein described.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

GEORGE OOTIRELL.

\Vitnesses:

S. H. NOURSE, II. C. LEE.

